In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial space satellite, thus opening the era of space exploration. The launch of Sputnik was a major turning point in the Cold War, particularly because the event dramatically symbolized the arrival of the Soviet Union as a superpower in the global imagination. After Sputnik and through the 1960s, both the United States and the Soviet Union saw the arena of outer space as a stage for intense competition; both nations committed enormous resources to achieve spectacular missions. The new ‘Space Age’ also signaled major transformations in society, politics, and culture. In this course, we will consider the entire history of space exploration with a particular focus on the Cold War era. The course will begin with the early dreaming about space travel during the pre-modern era and end with the rise of new space powers such as China and India in the 21st century. Using a combination of primary and secondary sources, we will consider the political, military, technological, social, and cultural dimensions of space exploration. We will engage in speculations on why humans were drawn to the cosmos in the first place, discuss the weaponization of space, explore the popular culture of TV shows and movies, uncover the secret Soviet space program, revisit the extraordinary Apollo missions to the Moon, and evaluate the International Space Station of the 21st century.